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Rio’s Carnaval is the most famous, but whether or not it’s the best surely depends on one’s personal taste.

You should know that hotel prices in Rio often double (and sometimes triple) during Carnaval—and you may have to book for at least four or five nights because many hotels and apartments have minimum stay requirements during Carnaval.

Rio Carnival 2014 starts on Friday, February 28th and lasts until Tuesday, March 4th—the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent.

The main Rio Samba Parade in the Sambodromo (also known as the Rio Carnaval Parade) will be held on Sunday, March 2, and on Monday, March 3. (It begins Sunday evening and continues into the early morning on Monday.)

The winning samba schools will parade again after Carnaval during the Champions’ Parade on Saturday, March 8, in the Sambodromo.

Carnaval is always celebrated seven Sundays before Easter Sunday (which in 2014 falls on April 20), although Carnaval in Rio actually begins after Rio’s mayor, Eduardo Paes, hands the key to King Momo, the Lord of Misrule and Revelry, a ceremony held on the Friday evening before the aforementioned seventh Sunday.

Carnaval—“carne vale”—means “farewell to the flesh” because meat is commonly prohibited during Lent. The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry.